Correlation of Sexual Activity/Substance Abuse and Team Sport Participation Among Adolescents NationwideOctober 3, 2003 This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine recently published a study focusing on the relationship between adolescent sexual activity/substance use and team sport participation. Researchers wanted to determine whether vigorous physical activity, team sport membership, or a combination of the two factors contributed to lower rates of substance abuse and risky sexual behavior among adolescents.
MethodsResearchers used data from the 1999 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). They included 15,142 YRBS respondents in grades 9-12 from 144 schools nationwide in their analysis.Researchers looked at questions regarding vigorous physical activity (defined as at least 20 minutes of exercise that induced heavy breathing and sweating) and team sport membership within the 12 months preceding the YRBS. They placed participants in one of four categories based on their responses to these questions. The "active team" category included participants who reported membership on at least one sports team and vigorous physical activity on three or more of the seven days preceding the YRBS. The "non-active team" category included participants who reported belonging to a sports team but did not engage in vigorous physical activity on at least three days in the seven days preceding the YRBS. The "non-active non-team" category included participants who reported neither vigorous physical activity, nor team sport membership.
Demographics
ResultsThe researchers found no correlation between sexual behavior/substance use and physical activity among male participants. Thus, the researchers only included data on female participants. Association Between Physical Activity and Selected Risk Behaviors for Females
The researchers found a correlation between sexual activity/substance use and female participants’ physical activity. Overall, they found that exposure to both physical activity and team sports membership was associated with less risky behaviors among female participants. They determined that neither physical activity alone nor team sport membership alone could reduce risky behavior rates among female adolescents. The researchers recommend making it easier for female adolescents to join team sports. They argue that schools and communities should seriously consider the benefits of sport team membership for female students. For more information: Kimary Kulig, Ph.D et. al, "Sexual Activity and Substance Use Among Adolescents by Category of Physical Activity Plus Team Sports Participation," Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol. 157, issue 9, pp. 905-12. This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document. This article was provided by Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. It is a part of the publication SHOP Talk: School Health Opportunities and Progress Bulletin.
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